From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 1997 11:19 PM
To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: Sources for the Jewish Wedding Ceremony
From: Phil Luna
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Jewish Wedding Ceremony
-Eddie
In your "Festivals" book (pg. 117), you make the statement that "G_d gave the
wedding customs, service, and ceremonies to the Jewish people (Romans 3:2;
9:4) to teach us about the Messiah Yeshua (Colossians 2:16-17)." You then
went on to refer to the "biblical" wedding ceremony.
1. How do you know that the following 12 steps to the ancient Jewish wedding
ceremony are "biblical" since the steps do not appear in the Bible?
2. Since they are not in the Bible, do they appear anywhere in written
literature?
I noticed that you footnoted a tape series called, "Ancient Jewish Wedding
Customs" but I wasn't sure if that was your source or not.
This was an excellent section with regards to our relationship to our Lord.
I would like to teach this but I feel like I would be asked these same
questions by those that are not as familiar, or open to Hebraic roots. It
would help me greatly to be able to quote where these steps are actually
listed, whatever the source, and then I could tie them together with the
Biblical scriptures that correspond, as you have.
Thank you so much for your time and study. I look forward to hearing from
you.
-Phil
>From Eddie:
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Phil, this is a very good question. In Romans 9:4, it is
written:
"Who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption and the glory and
the covenants and the giving of the Torah and THE SERVICE and the
promise"
In I Chronicles 28:10-14 it is written:
"Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen thee to build a house for the
sanctuary: be strong and do it. Then David gave to Solomon his son
the pattern of the porch (of the Temple) and the houses thereof and
of the treasuries thereof adn the upper chambers thereof, and of the
inner parlors thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat and the
pattern of all that he had BY THE (Holy) SPIRIT of the courts of the
house of the Lord ... also for the COURSES OF THE PRIESTS AND
LEVITES and for ALL the work of the SERVICE of the house of the
Lord and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord"
In I Chronicles 28:10-14, it tells us that the "courses of
the priests and levites and for ALL the work of the SERVICE of the
house of the Lord (the Temple)" was given BY THE SPIRIT. Therefore,
the services in the Temple done by the priests were DIVINE and CAME
FROM GOD (Romans 9:4, Hebrews 9:1) but if you read the entire Bible
from Genesis to Revelation you will NOT find a detailed description of
these services that were done in the Temple. Yet, the Bible tells us that
they were DIVINE and CAME FROM GOD through the SPIRIT OF
GOD (Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh).
So, how was this communicated and what do we know about
what was done? Obviously, this makes a valid claim for the ORAL LAW.
The Oral Law was writting down in the form of the Talmud. The Talmud
will give the details of how these various things were done.
Likewise, the steps in the Ancient Jewish wedding customs are not
written down in the Bible. They are only alluded to in various places
in the Bible. For example, when Yeshua/Jesus said in John 14:2:
" ... I go to prepare a place for you ..."
This is Jewish wedding talk and the words that the Groom
would say to the Bride as he left to prepare her a house so that
he could return at a later time to marry his Bride when the Father
Ok'd the house that was being prepared for them. Since it was the
Father who Ok'd the house, "only the Father knew" when the Groom
would return to get his bride.
This background is only understood by knowing about the
various customs of the Jewish people. There is an entire tractate in
the Talmud that deals with marriage. It is called, "Kiddushin".
Neil and Jamie Lash founders of "Jewish Jewels" have an
outstanding video and book which details the Ancient Jewish wedding.
I give the same outline based upon this same information in my book,
"The Seven Festivals of the Messiah". Zola Levitt has also produced a
video showing the Ancient Jewish wedding customs in his video
"Beloved Thief". An Orthodox Jewish Rabbi named Aryeh Kaplan has
written an outstanding book describing the Jewish wedding process in
his book entitled, "Made in Heaven".
It is from these sources that you will begin to
understand and can document the explanations of the Ancient Jewish
wedding ceremony. However, you won't be able to find them for you in
a step-by-step description in our written Bible. This requires us to
be even greater students of God's Word so that we can "study to show
ourselves approved of God" (II Timothy 2:15). I hope that this
answers your question.
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